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Oil prices too high to stock strategic reserve
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-09-13 15:07 However, in the first eight months of this year, oil imports were up only 3.9
percent to 83 million tons, according to government statistics.
"The basic policy for China's energy industry is to rely on domestic supply.
China is able to maintain production of crude oil at around 180 million tons a
year over the next 20 years," Zhang said.
An undated file
photo shows the construction site of the Zhenhai oil reserve in east
China's Zhejiang Province. | Similar to the US
strategic reserve, Beijing aims to stockpile up to 100 million barrels of
petroleum, equivalent to almost a month's national consumption.
Earlier state media reports said China was set to start filling a 16-tank
facility in Zhenhai city in the eastern province of Zhejiang sometime this year.
The official also reiterated that China had no plans to set up a special
energy ministry in the near future.
Instead, China has established a top level task force headed by Premier Wen
Jiabao to handle urgent energy needs, he said.
China, a net importer of oil for the past decade, is hurriedly looking to
meet the demands of an economy which last year grew 9.5 percent.
It is estimated the nation of 1.3 billion people will need 450 million tonnes
of crude oil and 200 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2020 to power its
factories, cars and offices.
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